Army Astronaut 01.20.12HUNTSVILLE, Ala. -- U.S. Army Astronaut Col. Shane Kimbrough visits officers on Redstone Arsenal at the Program Executive Office for Aviation offices to recruit them as Army Astronauts. Firday, Jan. 20, 2012. Kimbrough was selected as an astronaut candidate by NASA in May 2004 and flew on STS-126 Endeavour (November 14 to November 30, 2008). During the mission, Kimbrough performed two spacewalks, logging a total of 12 hours and 52 minutes of EVA. (The Huntsville Times/Eric Schultz)

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama - Col. Shane Kimbrough got right to the point Friday with young Army astronaut hopefuls at Huntsville's Redstone Arsenal.

Kimbrough, who flew on space shuttle Endeavor in November 2008, met Friday with about a dozen young soldiers interested in astronaut training. NASA is accepting applications from military and civilian hopefuls until Jan. 27.

He said NASA needs 20 to 25 new astronauts to fill out a corps depleted by the end of the shuttle era. Where NASA had about 120 astronauts a few years ago, it now has about 50, he said.

Where will the new astronauts go? For the rest of this decade, the International Space Station is "the only game in town," Kimbrough said. But he noted that NASA in Huntsville is developing the new rocket to go eventually to deep space.

How will they get to space in the meantime? Right now, the only ride is a Russian Soyuz spacecraft, but Kimbrough said that's changing, too. American companies are developing new spacecraft, and Kimbrough said the astronauts are rooting for them.

"We all hope they're successful, so we can fly more," Kimbrough said.

SpaceX, one of the companies thought to be leading the commercial space race, announced Tuesday that it will delay a planned launch on Feb. 7 of its Dragon capsule, which was set to travel to the space station on a rendezvous mission.

Kimbrough expects SpaceX to try again in March or April and is glad the company is double-checking its math. Launching and returning a capsule to Earth, two things SpaceX has already done, are very different from approaching the space station, he said.

SpaceX recently briefed NASA on how it plans to crew its future spacecraft, Kimbrough said. He used the term "rental car program."

"They provide the car, we provide the drivers," Kimbrough said.

That may not be the model for the first test flights, Kimbrough said, when SpaceX will likely use its own crews. And some flights could have a SpaceX pilot ferrying NASA astronauts in more of the "space taxi" model.

But Kimbrough said astronauts are working closely with SpaceX and the other companies now. Ultimately, he expects commercial companies to do pretty much what NASA wants with regard to crews.

Astronaut is a tough job to get. In NASA's history, 41,000 people have applied and 257 have been selected. A bachelor's degree in a science or technical field is required, and your height must be between 62 and 75 inches tall to fit the Soyuz. Otherwise, spelled-out requirements are few.

As for the "real" requirements, Kimbrough said graduate degrees are critical. But when all else is similar, selection boils down to, "Would I want to fly in space with this person?"

"You're going to be in some small container going somewhere for probably a long time," Kimbrough said, "and if you can't really hang out with that person for a long time, then you're probably not the person we want."

Medical tests wash out the most applicants before they reach that final decision, Kimbrough said. Astronaut physicals are so tough they eliminate half or more of all candidates, he said.

To illustrate how hard it is to become an astronaut, Kimbrough assumed 4,000 applicants. Approximately 10 percent, 400 people, will be selected as "highly qualified." Roughly the top 100 will get invited to NASA for a first interview. Thirty or 40 will be brought back for a second interview and final selection. Of that number, typically nine- to 15 become astronauts.

"The interview is kind of a misnomer," Kimbrough said in a final tip. "You have an hour to sit before the board and the rest is medical testing, psych testing and things like that."

Kimbrough told the group to expect one question from the selection board. "Tell me what you've done since high school. You have one hour."